Craig D. Allert on Evangelicalism and Sola Scriptura

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

Craig D. Allert, "What are we Trying to Conserve? Evangelicalism and Sola Scriptura," The Evangelical Quarterly 76.4 (2004): 327-348.

My thanks to Dr. Allert for his kind permission to reproduce this article.

Abstract:

At its heart Evangelicalism is a conservative movement. But the vari­ous streams of influence that converge in this movement have left Evangelicalism with a confused legacy - controlling influence. This legacy is readily apparent in Evangelicalism’s claim of anchoring itself in the Reformation and its insistence on biblical authority. The appeal to the ‘Reformation view’ is often made without understand­ing or indicating the contextual issues fundamental to understand­ing that very view. Thus the contemporary evangelical is often called to hold a version of sola scriptura that was not, in fact the version of Luther or Calvin. The contemporary version of sola scriptura, appar­ently based on Luther and Calvin, is then used as a reason to reject Tradition as a source for theology. It is here shown these Reformers did not reject Tradition in favor of the Bible alone. The slogan must be understood within its proper historical context. The dangers of a rejection of Tradition can be seen in the radicals Franck and Grebel. If appeal is made to ‘the reformers view’ of sola scriptura it is essential that we understand the context o£ that appeal if we are to offer it as the evangelical view.